Monday, July 27, 2009

Grants for Grads program will give money to help recent college graduates buy homes, entice them to stay in Ohio Reprinted courtesy of the Cleveland Plain Dealer
graduate hugsState officials are hoping to entice recent college graduates to stay in Ohio or move back by offering money to help purchase houses.

The "Grants for Grads" program will help with down payments or closing costs and are for graduates who have recently received at least a two-year associate degree.

The catch is they must stay in Ohio for at least five years to get the full benefit and must have graduated within the past 18 months. Some of the details of the program are still being worked out by the Ohio Housing Financing Agency, which is administering the program. OHFA, which also runs a first-time home-buying program for residents, expects the new program to be up and running within about two months.

The program is similar to a second mortgage with recipients receiving up to 3 percent of the purchase price of the home, said Blaine Brockman, assistant executive director of OHFA.

If recipients move within the first year, they have to repay the entire amount and if they stay longer than five years, all of the money is forgiven.

If they stay for between two to three years, for example, 40 percent of the grant is forgiven.

The program was proposed by State Sen. Stephen Buehrer, Republican from Fulton County, and was put into the state budget signed by the governor last week.

And it was one of the suggestions Ohio undergraduate students said could help keep them in the state.

A recent study of 800 Ohio students at seven universities by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute found that most don't plan to stay after they graduate.

And 51 percent of native Ohioans plan to leave after graduation. For students who are not Ohioans, the number was even higher with 79 percent saying they would leave after graduation.

The Fordham study found that students would welcome tax incentives, help with mortgages and other opportunities to stay in Ohio.

Internships and other workplace experience while going to school were also mentioned as among the best ways of keeping students in the state.

Ohio is ranked 38th in the country for residents with college degrees. Just 24 percent have at least a bachelor's degree, which is lower than the national rate of 27.5 percent.

 

Inside and out outside of campus
New photos from the Delaware Campus construction site show lots of progress from the inside and out. The outside view is shown looking north toward the entrance of the building. Inside, the lobby area, with its vast expanse of glass stands opposite to new interior walls which outline classrooms.
interior photo

open houseCopy Shop Hop Tony Belleau, right, and Jennifer Hendricks, center, show samples of color copy work done by the DX Copy & Print Shops to members of the Human Resources Department at the Open House held July 22. Visitors to the open house were treated to refreshments, giveaways, tours and demonstrations of the services and products available at the Copy & Print Shops.

August 14 deadline set for 2009-2010 Shared Governance item submissionsIt is now time for the campus to play its critical role in the governing process by submitting issues for inclusion on the agendas of the respective Shared Governance councils and committees. As the document governing structure stipulates, the "Councils and Committees will review all issues that are submitted and create the agenda for the following year under the direction of the President and the Board of Trustees."

All items submitted will be reviewed and assigned to the appropriate council or committee for the upcoming 2009-2010 agenda at the Shared Governance Training Session scheduled for August 14 for returning and newly elected representatives.

The Shared Governance system is the decision-making mechanism for developing, evaluating and recommending changes in college-wide policies, procedures or guidelines. Institutional concerns regarding curriculum and assessment, long-range plans, student support, use of physical resources, budgeting priorities, technology plans, professional training and development, are the general focus areas for the governance councils and committees.

The daily activities of carrying out the college's policies and procedures do not fall under Shared Governance. For example, the college-wide grading system is a governance issue, but a student request for a grade change is not a governance issue.

Additional examples:

Governance: Grading systems, academic programs, criteria to purchase equipment, computer use policies, campus safety plan, tuition refund policy, and planning for new buildings.

Not Governance: Individual grade change, quarterly schedule of classes, equipment purchases, classroom assignments, computer lab schedules, disposing of hazardous waste, issuing tuition refunds, and repainting of office walls.

The following items can be found on the Shared Governance Web site: http://www.cscc.edu/governance. They are posted under the Instructional Council documents and the Instructional Support Council documents.

1. 2009-2010 Shared Governance Items for Submission Information Sheet
2. 2009-2010 Shared Governance Item Submission Form, due by August 14, 2009
3. Shared Governance Model (located at top right of Web page)

Once you have completed the 2009-2010 Shared Governance Item Submission Form, please submit it by August 14, 2009. All forms may be submitted via e-mail chatfiel@cscc.edu or sent to Cathy Hatfield in Franklin Hall, Room 252. Please complete one form per item. For more information, contact Hatfield at ext. 3903 or email.

New Assessment Policy drafted The Shared Governance Assessment Committee has drafted a new Assessment Policy and related Procedures. The committee has scheduled a forum for campus input on Thursday, July 30 from 1-2:30 p.m. in Franklin Hall Room 110.

Chair of the Assessment Committee is Patricia Opong and vice-chair is Carla Mayers Bletsch. If you are unable to attend the forum and have input, please contact Opong at ext. 5172 or email popong@cscc.edu.